You probably didnâ€™t know this, but every year a very dedicated group of experts study and rank the finest bars, pubs and cocktail venues across the globe. Hereâ€™s the outcome of the 2019 list of the Worldâ€™s 50 Best Bars.

For almost fifty years now there has been a debate about pollution, climate change, overpopulation, over-consumption and whether or not we are bringing doom upon ourselves. It began as a whisper, but now the swell of voices is rising, and in the virtual absence of corporate and governmental action, more and more people â€“ among them the young who will inherit the earth from us â€“ are trying to force change. At the core of this movement is the admittance that, regardless of whether or not we are causing global warming, we are turning this beautiful planet into a gigantic garbage heap.

Living on or visiting the Marbella coastline, we spend a lot of time looking out to sea and surveying the horizon. In the distance, the outlines of Gibraltar and North Africa sometimes seem close enough to touch â€“ and indeed, whether you take a ferry, yacht or make use of a new half-hour Ryanair flight from MÃ¡laga to Tetuan, Morocco is just a short distance away.

So close and yet so different; the short hop across the western edge of the Mediterranean opens up a world of discoveries and an insight into an exotic world of casbahs, minarets and the call of the muezzin. Itâ€™s all just on the other side of the water we are so familiar with, where historic cities and beautiful mountain ranges mirror those of AndalucÃ­a. Despite the impact on the senses of a place that still has an almost medieval feel in places, where the scent of spices and natural fragrances hangs in the air, there are also definite similarities with AndalucÃ­a, for if youâ€™re familiar with the white-plastered villages of southern Spain you will come across places that bear the hallmarks of centuries of interaction between these two shorelines.

Scandinavian design has had a large impact on what we consider to be modern architecture, cosy interiors and contemporary style, and itâ€™s a force that has been felt on the Costa del Sol too.

The recent shift to sleek, modern architectural styling and bright, spacious open-plan interiors forms part of an international design movement, but while it is locally mostly interpreted in an Andalusian-Mediterranean way, the Scandinavian influences are undeniable even here in Marbella. Add to this the fact that the past few years have seen a large increase in the number of Scandinavian homeowners, tourists and permanent residents, and suddenly it becomes clear why Nordic design and interiors are now the leading style movement in our region. Put differently, weâ€™ve been introduced to casual chic and contemporary hygge, and Iâ€™m not so sure weâ€™ll ever leave it.

Quite apart from the to and fro deliberations about Brexit and its many implications, it is interesting to ponder the concept of Britishness and how this has led directly to the process weâ€™re now witnessing.

Ok, Iâ€™ll say it: Brexit is inextricably linked with the uniquely British sense of identity as a concept of being â€˜differentâ€™. Of course, weâ€™re all different; different individually, by nationality, etcetera, but the British have a sense of differentness that forms the very core of their national identity. Itâ€™s not for nothing that Brits are not exactly famous for learning languages or assimilating into host cultures, and the fact that anyone who is not British is forever a foreigner â€“ even if it is the Briton who resides in someone elseâ€™s country â€“ reflects a mentality that is, indeed, very different from most modern nations. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Social Issues | Comments Off on Being British and the Origins of Brexit